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On   GRANDFATHER'S   FaRM 


1 


BY 

ANNIE  HOWELLS  FRECHETTE 


PHILADELPHIA 

AMERICAN  BAPTIST  PUBLICATION  SOCIETY 
1420  Chestnut  Street 


f^r^dU eStiz,,  f)  77  // 


Copyright  1897  by  the 
AMERICAN  Baptist  Publication  Society 


from  tbe  SocietiB'a  ovpn  press 


^0  tbc  VflcmovQ 

Of  my  dear  father  and  sister  Victoria 

anD 

To  my  cherished  sister  Aurelia 

77ie  one  left  of  the  loving  three  who  made 

us  so  happy  on  ^^ Grandfather* s  Farm*' 


CONTENTS 

JUNO 7 

"Bingo  was  His  Name"   ....     .  .    29 

Lily  and  Lupine 57 


JUNO 


ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 


JUNO 


was  quite  in  keeping  with  the 
rest  of  her  woes  that  she  had 
been  named  Juno ;  it  was  one 
of  the  many  indignities  that 
had  been  heaped  upon  her. 
The  name  was  always  said 
over  with  a  laugh  or  a  jeer 
whenever  any  one  first  saw 
poor  Juno ;  there  was  so  little  that 
was  goddess-like  about  her. 
When  mamma  first  saw  her,  Juno  looked 
around  the  corner  of  the  barn  at  her  with 
a  pair  of  soft,  big,  gooJ-natured  eyes, 
which  shone  under  a  bulging,  bull-like 
forehead,  for  Juno  was  a  calf.  And  a 
more  forlorn  and  uncared-for  calf  never 

9 


lo  ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 

scampered  over  a  Virginia  farm — and 
that  is  saying  a  great  deal. 

The  two  children  and  their  mamma  had 
come  from  their  Northern  home  to  spend 
some  months  with  their  grandfather  on  a 
lovely  old  farm  in  Virginia.  A  happier 
little  couple  it  would  have  been  hard  to 
find  anywhere,  full  of  fancies  and  theories 
about  the  wonders  of  country  life,  and 
always  ready  to  leap  from  small  facts  to 
broad  conclusions.  They  h^d  names, 
but  little  use  was  made  of  them,  as  their 
family  used  those  they  had  found  for  each 
other,  and  they  were  still  spoken  of  as 
** Sister"  and  *' Brother."  Sister  was 
seven,  and  had  enjoyed  the  good  things 
of  this  life  a  year  and  a  half  longer  than 
Brother,  and  was  therefore  accepted  by 
him  as  an  authority  on  most  subjects, 
though  she  kindly  let  him  know  the  most 
about  blacksmithing,  coopering,  and  sim- 
ilar trades  which  they  had  found  in  the 
neighborhood. 

Mamma,  the  children,  and  Aunt  Sie 


:  JUNO  I, 

had  gone  to  the  pasture  to  look  at  the 
pretty  Jersey  calves,  which  crowded  about 
and  let  them  stroke  their  glossy  sides. 

"But  that  is  not  a  Jersey,"  said  mam- 
ma, pointing  to  the  shaggy,  half-grown 
black  heifer  which  came  shyly  up  to  them, 
ready  to  be  either  petted  oi  chased  away. 

"Oh,  no;  that  is  only  Juno,"  was  the 
answer,  quickly  followed  by  a  wail  as 
Aunt  Sie  caught  sight  of  a  rose-branch 
dangling  from  the  calf's  tail.  "Juno, 
you  wretched  beast,  you  have  been  in  the 
garden  again!" 

Juno  could  not  deny  it,  and  only  gave 
a  gruff,  though  not  a  saucy,  *  *  b-a-a-h ! ' ' 
and  galloped  away  to  the  farther  end  of 
the  pasture. 

"Is  she,  like  the  Juno  of  old,  fond  of 
'dittany,  poppies,  and  lilies'?"  asked 
mamma. 

"She  is  fond  of  everything  that  can 
be  eaten,  from  warm  mush-and-milk  down 
to  arctic  overshoes,"  was  the  reply. 
"To  be  sure,  her  appetite  has  its  reason 


12  ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 

for  bein^',  for  I  don't  think  that  poor  Juno 
has  ever  seen  the  time  when  her  stomach 
was  really  full.  When  she  was  a  little  calf, 
the  black  woman  we  had  to  look  after  the 
cows  said  that  calves  needed  very  little 
care,  so  she  was  brought  up  by  that 
rule.  Then  when  these  little  pets  " — 
patting  the  Jerseys — '*came  along,  we 
had  a  well-trained  Scotch  lassie  who 
would  have  gone  without  her  own  supper 
rather  than  have  let  them  go  without 
theirs.  But  it  was  too  late  for  Juno  to 
profit  by  this,  for  with  Scotch  thrift  she 
said  Juno  was  too  old  to  be  treated  like 
*the  wee  bit  calfies,'  and  she  chased  the 
poor  animal  out  of  the  calf-pen. 

*  *  Then  poor  Juno  tried  to  pretend  she 
was  a  cow,  and  slipped  into  the  cow-yard 
when  the  bran-mash  was  passed  around. 
But  this  was  looked  upon  as  little  less 
than  robbery  by  the  Scotch  girl,  and  Juno 
was  driven  out  for  a  'thieving  beastie, 
trying  to  tak'  fra'  the  poor  coos  what  they 
needed  to  keep  up  their  milk  wi'.*     So, 


JUNO 


U 


you  see,  Juno  has  not  always 
had  a  bed  of  roses  to  rest  on, 
though  she  has  just  come  off 
one." 

As  they  turned  to  go  back 
to  the  house.  Sister  and  Brother,  who 
had  been  drinking  in  the  story 
of  Juno,  begged  to  stay  and 
have  a  romp  with  the  pretty, 
fawnlike  calves  about  them. 
They  were  popped  through  the 
bars  by  Aunt  Sie,  and  allowed 
to  peel  off  shoes  and  stockings 
by  mamma,  and  left  to  caper 
the  morning  away  on  the  tender 
green  grass. 

When  they  came  in  at  noon,  warm  and 
tired,  they  were  followed  at  a  short  dis- 
tance by  Juno.  We  were  rather  touched 
by  this,  and  put  it  down  to  fondness  for 
them.  Its  real  cause  came  out  that  night, 
when  the  small  people  were  being  put  to 
bed.  Then  Sister  and  Brother  did  not 
seem  ready  to  enter  the  land  of  dreams 


14  ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 

until  they  had  freed  their  souls  by  a  con- 
fession.    It  began  with : 

"Good-night,  mamma." 

**  Good-night,  and  pleasant  dreams." 

"Are  you  going  downstairs  at  once, 
mamma?" 

"Yes;  good-night  again." 

"Just  wait  a  minute,  please,"  and  a 
hurried  talk  was  held  in  a  whisper,  of 
which  mamma  caught,  "No,  you  tell, 
Sister;  you're  the  oldest."  "No,  you 
tell.  Brother,  you  make  things  sound  so 
well,  you  know."  "Ah,  no.  Sister,  you." 
Then  mamma  brought  it  to  a  crisis  by  ask- 
ing what  they  wished  to  tell. 

"We  wanted  to  know  what  stealing 


is." 


"Why,  it's  taking  what  does  not  be- 
long to  you."  .  '    i ;  ; 

"Well,  is  all  stealing  very  bad?" 
asked  Sister,  sitting  up  in  bed. 

"Yes,  is  it  all  very  bad?"  echoed 
Brother  who,  being  merely  a  kind  of 
shadow  to  Sister,  also  sat  up.     "Would 


JUNO  Ij 

you  call  taking  grandfather's  things  steal- 
ing?'' 

**0f  course." 

**Oh-hI"  looking  uneasily  at  each 
other. 

**  Why  do  you  ask  ?  " 

**  We  didn't  know — we  thought — we — 
Brother,  you  explain,"  and  Sister  lay 
back  on  her  pillow  in  despair.  He  came 
boldly  out :  *  *  You  see,  mamma,  we  felt 
sorry  for  poor  Juno,  and  Sister  said  to 
me,  *  Let's  make  a  party  for  Juno  * ;  and 
I  said,  *  Say  we  do  ' ;  and  Sister  and  I 
went  to  the  barn,  and  Juno,  she  walked 
after  us,  so  nice  and  polite,  mamma,  and 
we  put  her  into  Jim's  stall,  and  gave  her 
some  oats  and  corn  with  some  salt 
sprinkled  on  it,  and  we  found  some  meal, 
and  made  her  some  porridge  in  a  bucket, 
and  we  set  it  outside,  'cause  Sister  said 
it  would  cook  in  the  sun,  but  Juno  didn't 
wait  for  it  to  cook.  She  just  gobbled  it 
up,  and  she  was  so  gla-d!"  and  his  eyes 
sparkled  at  the  memory.     **  If  she  hadn't 


I6  ON  GRANDPA  THER '  S  FARM 

been  quite  so  greedy,  though,  she'd  have 
had  it  better,  for  we  were  going  to  trim 
the  bucket  with  sweet-potato  vines." 

**To  make  it  look  like  salad,"  ex- 
plained Sister. 

*  *  Surely,  surely,  you  would  not  have 
taken  vines  from  grandfather's  hot-bed! 
If  you  had,  he'd  have  been  sorry  that  I 
brought  you  to  visit  him.  About  Juno's 
party — you'll  have  to  tell  him  in  the 
morning,  and  ask  him  to  excuse  you." 

**  D'you  think  he'll  be  very  mad  ?  " 
they  asked  solemnly.  '*  Won't  you  just 
mention  it  to  him  when  you  go  downstairs 
now?     You  know  him  so  well." 

The  next  morning  there  was  a  session 
in  the  library,  with  closed  doors.  But 
mamma  fancied  there  was  not  a  terrible 
scene,  for  when  she  had  **  just  mentioned 
it"  to  grandfather  the  night  before,  he 
shut  one  eye  and  shook  with  silent 
laughter.  When  the  door  opened,  and 
the  three  came  out,  there  was  still  a 
severe   air  hanging   about    grandfather, 


JUNO  17 

while  the  babies  looked  as  if  their  little 
souls  had  been  swept  and  set  in  order  for 
the  day.  As  they  parted,  grandfather 
said,  "But,  remember,  as  a  punishment 
you  are  to  take  care  of  Juno  and  keep 
her  out  of  mischief  while  you  are  here ; 
and,"  tapping  his  left  palm  with  his  right 
forefinger,  **  she  is  not  to  have  a  taste  of 
sweet-potato  vines." 

**  No,  indeed,  dear  grandfather." 
Nothing  could  be  easier  than  to  promise 
to  keep  Juno  out  of  mischief,  but  they 
soon  found  it  a  very  hard  promise  to 
keep.  She  was  large  enough  to  jump 
out  of  the  calf-pen,  and  small  enough  to 
squirm  through  the  pasture  fence.  She 
got  into  the  chicken-yard,  and  galloped 
around,  scaring  the  hens  off  their  nests, 
and  almost  throwing  the  old  turkey  gob- 
bler into  a  fit  by  bellowing  whenever 
he  gave  vent  to  his  just  wrath  by  gob- 
bling. She  led  the  Jersey  calves  into  the 
wheat-fields  of  the  next  farm  (and  made 
no  end  of  trouble  for  her  owner),  took 

B 


1 8  ON  GRANDPA  THER '  S  FARM 

them  for  a  stroll  along  the  railroad  track, 
and  only  brought  them  back  when  night 
and  hunger  drove  them  home,  and  when 
all  the  tired  men  and  boys  on  the  farm 
had  gone  to  look  for  them.  Her  inno- 
cent air,  as  she  came  over  the  brow  of 
some  old  earthworks,  with  the  calves  at 
her  heels,  seemed  to  say,  **But  for  me 
these  young  creatures  might  never  have 
found  their  way  home." 

After  this  last  prank  Juno  was  given 
up  to  final  disgrace  by  all  but  her  two 
little  friends.  She  was  made  to  wear  a 
poke,  and  her  usual  calfish  joy  was  so 
overcast  by  gloom  that  she  only  had 
spirit  enough  left  to  gnaw  the  bark  off 
the  young  trees  in  her  pen.  Her  friends 
hated  the  poke  as  much  as  she  did ;  and 
if  we  all  had  not  been  deep  in  our  own 
affairs,  we  might  have  seen  that  a  revo- 
lution was  brewing. 

Juno  looked  forlornly  out  from  her 
prison  pen,  and  Sister  and  Brother  ran  in 
wild  freedom  over  the  farm,  for  they  were 


JUNO  19 

free  to  take  their  lunch  and  be  gone  all 
day,  only  they  were  told  to  begin  their 
homeward  march  when  the  whistle  from 
the  five  o'clock  express  shrieked  through 
the  valley. 

One  morning  a  very  large  lunch  was 
asked  for,  and  there  was  much  flitting  in 
and  out  of  the  barn  before  they,  with  their 
little  express  wagon,  went  out  of  sight 
through  the  vineyard  toward  the  woods. 

The  sweet  spring  day  wore  away,  and 
all  were  sitting  under  the  china-tree,  en- 
joying the  delicious  change  from  afternoon 
heat  to  the  coolness  of  evening,  when 
grandfather  suddenly  rose,  looked  about 
him,  and  asked :  *  *  Where  are  the  children  ? 
It  is  time  they  were  at  home." 

The  golden  glow  of  coming  sunset, 
which  had  seemed  so  beautiful  but  that 
moment  to  their  mamma,  turned  to  a  cold 
gray  mist  as  she  rose  quickly  and  looked 
toward  the  spot  where  the  two  loved  little 
forms  and  the  squeaking  express  wagon 
had  disappeared  so  many  hours  before. 


ao  ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 

'*They  ought  to  be  here,"  said  she. 
"It's  after  six  o'clock.  They  never 
failed  to  obey  the  whistle  before." 

*  *  Oh,  well, ' '  grandfather  said,  *  *  they've 
not  heard  it  to-day.  They  may  be  hunt- 
ing arrow-heads,  or  have  found  some  new 
wonder,  or  are  down  on  the  low  grounds 
gathering  cresses,  and  think  it's  only 
noon.  However,  as  it  is  getting  late 
enough  for  them  to  be  at  home,  I'll  walk 
down  that  way  and  get  them." 

**  And  I'll  go  to  the  pasture ;  they  may 
be  playing  with  Juno,"  said  Aunt  Sie. 

**  And  I'll  run  across  to  Mrs.  Brown's; 
perhaps  Sol  Brown  has  coaxed  them  over 
there,"  said  Aunt  Leashie. 

**  Well,  I'll  go  on  the  upper  porch  and 
have  a  look  over  the  farm,  and  if  I  don't 
see  them,  I'll  take  a  run  through  the  vine- 
yard; they  often  hunt  for  arrow-heads 
there,"  and,  as  she  spoke,  the  mother 
tried  to  believe  she  didn't  feel  cold  around 
the  heart. 

Each  started  off  willingly,  for  there  are 


JUNO  m 

times  when  it  is  a  greater  relief  to  fright- 
ened people  to  part  company  than  to  stay 
together. 

When  she  reached  the  porch,  which 
gave  a  view  of  the  lovely  landscape  for 
miles  around,  she  saw  nothing  but  grand- 
father entering  the  woods  in  the  hollow, 
Aunt  Sie  hastening  to  the  pasture,  and 
Aunt  Leashie  taking  the  shortest  cut  to 
Mrs.  Brown's.  The  clear  air  seemed  to 
ring,  and  yet  to  be  horribly  silent.  There 
came  the  boys  up  from  the  cornfield,  each 
riding  a  mule.  Perhaps  in  another  mo- 
ment she  would  see  a  yellow  head  bob- 
bing up  and  down  behind.  But  no,  the 
children  were  not  enjoying  a  mule  ride ; 
they  were  nowhere  to  be  seen.  She 
hurried  downstairs  to  question  the  boys 
as  they  passed,  who,  in  reply,  told  her 
that  they  had  not  seen  the  children  that 
day.  She  made  a  quick  search  of  the 
chicken-coop  and  hay-loft  before  running 
about  the  vineyard  on  the  hillside.  Once 
or  twice  she  was  sure  she  heard  them,  but 


22  ON  GRANDPA  THER '  S  FARM 

when  she  stopped  to  listen,  she  found 
that  it  was  only  the  boys  talking  at  the 
well  as  they  watered  their  mules.  At 
last  she  went  back  to  the  house  and 
waited. 

One  after  another  the  others  came  in ; 
when  the  last  arrived  alone,  at  seven 
o'clock,  she  broke  down  and  cried. 

**  There,  there,  don't  be  frightened," 
said  her  father ;  *  *  nothing  can  have  hap- 
pened; there  isn't  a  dangerous  place  on 
the  farm.  But  I'll  start  the  boys  out,  for 
I  feel  anxious  to  get  the  little  ones  in  be- 
fore it  grows  damp.  And  it  just  occurs 
to  me  that  they  may  be  at  the  black- 
smith's; I'll  step  across  and  see,"  and 
he  stepped  off  with  a  briskness  that  would 
have  done  credit  to  a  man  twenty-five 
years  younger. 

The  aunties  and  mother  by  this  time 
felt  the  need  of  company,  and  went  in  a 
group  to  the  darkening  woods,  where 
they  shouted  as  loudly  as  their  broken 
voices  would  allow.     At  one  place  the 


JUNO  23 

pasture  touched  the  woods,  and  here  they 
found  that  the  bars  were  down;  and 
when  they  looked  at  the  cows  waiting  at 
the  milking-shed,  Juno,  who  of  late  had 
been  much  with  the  children,  was  not 
with  them. 

**Juno  is  out,  and  they  are  probably 
trying  to  drive  her  home,"  said  Aunt 
Sie.     **  The  dear  little  souls  !'* 

**The  little  angels!"  sobbed  Aunt 
Leashie. 

*  *  The  dear,  care-worn  little  creatures ! 
Oh,  that  miserable  beast,  I  never  want  to 
see  her  again,*'  wailed  their  mamma, 
who  little  knew  how  glad  the  sight  of 
Juno  would  make  her. 

A  little  farther  on  they  found  the  prints 
of  small,  bare  feet,  half  covered  by  hoof- 
marks. 

*  *  They  have  been  here,  but  where  are 
they  now?" 

Ah,  yes,  where  ? 

It  was  dark  in  the  woods.  Outside, 
the  full  moon  looked  down  on  the  lone- 


^'*<^— **«*5l^^ 


some,  empty  fields.  They  could  not  bear 
to  look  at  it,  for  wasn't  there  **the  man 
in  the  moon  ' '  with  whom  those  blessed 
lost  babies  believed  themselves  on  such 
friendly  terms  ?  Oh,  if  he  loved  them  as 
well  as  they  believed  he  did,  would  he, 
ah,  would  he,  please  keep  an  eye  on 
them,  and  guide  them  safely  back  ? 

The  horror  of  the  dark  woods  was  too 
much  for  the  three  wretched  women,  and 
they  kept  on  its  edge,  like  the  whip-poor- 
wills  which  now  and  then  broke  the  awe- 
some silence. 

Presently  they  came  in  sight  of  a  tum- 
ble-down old   cabin  which   had   formed 
part  of  the  ' '  quarters ' '  in  slavery  times. 
"  Do   you   suppose   they  could   be 
there?" 

* '  No,  Fm  afraid  not ;  they  believe  the 
three  bears  live  in  it,  so  I  don't  think 
they  would  venture  in, "  answered  mam- 
ma. 

The  memory  of  the  dear  little  ones, 
whom  she  now  feared  she  would  never 


JUNO  25 

again  see,  crushed  her.  She  sank  down, 
and  her  face  was  bowed. 

'*0h,  my  darlings,  my  darlings!" 

"B-a-a-hl" 

Her  sisters  clutched  her  and  dragged 
her  to  her  feet. 

*'It  is,  it  is  Juno!" 

Once  more  the  silence  was  broken  by 
that  voice — sweeter  now  to  them  than  any 
trill  of  mocking-bird  or  prima  donna. 
This  time  it  took  on  an  inquiring  tone. 

*'B-a-a-h?" 

"She's  in  the  cabin!"  they  all  ex- 
claimed. 

The  moon  was  shining  brightly  upon 
the  square  opening  which  had  been  the 
window;  and  framed  in  it,  against  the 
inner  darkness,  they  saw  the  head  of 
Juno. 

*' Don't  let  us  hope  too  much;  they 
may  not  be  with  her.  It  would  kill  me 
not  to  find  them  now,"  quavered  mamma, 
as  they  hurried  forward. 

In  a  moment  they  were  at  the  door, 


26  ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 

and  a  glad  shout  pierced  the  still  evening 
and  reached  poor  grandfather,  as  he  stood 
*  *  completely  whipped  out,  "as  he  after- 
ward said,  not  knowing  which  way  to 
turn  next. 

The  cabin  was  divided  into  two  rooms, 
and  in  the  outer  one  gleamed  the  light 
clothing  of  two  little  sleepers.  The  sud- 
denness with  which  they  were  snatched 
from  sleep  caused  a  wail  from  Brother : 
**It's  the  bears.  Sister;  it's  the  three 
bears  come  home."  And  the  hugs  to 
which  they  were  treated  quite  carried  out 
the  bear  idea. 

It  seemed  as  if  the  tears  ought  to  have 
stopped,  but  they  did  not,  only  now  they 
were  what  the  children  called  **  fun  tears," 
because  they  came  from  laughing. 

Questions  were  asked  and  the  answers 
were  not  even  waited  for.  The  sleepy 
little  ones  were  rather  vague,  but  it  was 
learned  on  the  way  home  (when  mam- 
ma kindly  let  the  aunts  carry  their  pre- 
cious ones,  while  she  led  Juno  by  the 


■.■;_■/-,;;        JUNO  "      "^.■■--^■: 

poke),  that  feeling  that  Juno  was  not 
happy  with  her  poke,  and  not  well  treated, 
they  had  decided  to  take  her  and  live  in 
the  cabin,  which,  after  much  watching 
from  a  safe  distance,  they  had  decided 
was  not  the  home  of  the  bears.  They 
had  taken  a  load  of  meal  for  her  and  a 
good  lunch  for  themselves ;  and  they  had 
meant  to  live  on  strawberries  and  water. 
They  were  ** terribly  tired."  They  had 
worked  hard  all  day  gathering  moss  to 
make  themselves  a  bed.  After  putting 
Juno  into  her  room,  they  had  lain  down 
to  try  their  bed,  and  had  gone  to  sleep 
before  dark.  They  were  quite  willing  to 
go  home,  especially  Brother,  who  had  his 
own  opinion  about  whip-poor-wills. 

Grandfather  met  them  when  half-way 
to  the  house,  and  as  he  took  them  both 
into  loving  arms  he  was  greeted  with, 
**You  will  take  off  poor  Juno's  poke, 
won't  you,  dear  grandfather  ?  " 

Juno  was  urged  to  eat  when  she  got 
home,  and  although  she  had  fed  high  all 


M 


ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 


day,  she  consented  to  worry  down  a  little 
warm  bran  mash. 

Juno  has  ceased  to  be  a  calf,  and  we 
now  tenderly  speak  of  her  as  the  ' '  Sacred 
Cow." 


»M©©A 


AigUA' 


<6 


BINGO  WAS  HIS  NAME" 


'  *  BINGO  WAS  HIS  NAME  ' ' 

HAVE  been  thinking,"  said  grand- 
father, as  he  slowly  clicked  together 
the  bows  of  the  spectacles  which  he 
held  in  his  hand,  **  that  a  dog  would 
be  great  fun  for  the  children, 
and  a  protection  as  well.  I 
don't  think  they  would  ever  get 
lost  if  they  had  a  good,  trusty  dog 
to  follow  them  about.** 
**  Oh,  there  is  no  doubt  that  a  dog 
would  be  a  perfect  joy  to  them,"  replied 
mamma,  at  whom  he  had  looked.  **  But 
wouldn't  a  dog  be  a  great  trouble  to 
you?**  - 

**  No — no  very  great  trouble,  and  be- 
sides, even  if  he  were,  I  want  the  chil- 
dren to  enjoy  their  visit  to  fullness.  I'll 
speak  to  Randolph  and  have  him  hunt  up 
a  dog  for  me.** 

3« 


32  ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 

"Why,  no,  father,  don't  do  that; 
there  is  Joey  Vale.  If  any  one  in  Vir- 
ginia can  find  you  just  what  you  want, 
Joey  can.  Randolph  would  be  sure  to 
bring  some  starved  hound, — what  Sister 
calls  a  scanty  dog, — with  a  view  to  bor- 
rowing it  to  *  hunt  or  har'  '  with,"  said 
Aunt  Sie. 

**Joey  Vale's  collie  has  had  pups 
lately,  we  might  get  one  and  train  it," 
said  Aunt  Leashie.  She  hated  dogs,  but 
loved  her  small  relatives  to  that  degree 
that  she  was  ready  to  love  their  dog,  if  so 
doing  would  add  to  their  happiness. 

**Yes,  I  suppose  Joey  would  be  the 
right  man  to  call  upon.  Can  you  girls 
manage  to  see  him  ?  " 

*  *  I  might  take  the  children  and  go 
over  to-morrow,"  said  Aunt  Sie,  who 
never  found  herself  at  a  loss  to  '  *  man- 
age "  to  give  others  pleasure. 

So  it  was  settled. 

The  children  were  asleep  upstairs. 
Each  morning  was  a   joyful  awakening 


''BINGO   WAS  HIS  NAME''  33 

to  them,  but  the  morning  which  followed 
this  talk  was  happy  beyond  any  that  had 
ever  dawned.  At  an  early  hour,  Aunt 
Sie — dear  Aunt  Sie,  who  made  even  a 
dull  day  bright — came  into  their  room 
just  as  they  were  waking.  But  she  made 
believe  to  think  them  still  asleep,  and 
began  at  once  talking  to  mamma : 

**  I'd  like  to  go  over  to  Mrs.  Vale's 
this  morning,  if  I  had  some  one  to  drive 
Charley  for  me.  But  the  boys  are  busy 
in  the  corn  fields,  and  really  I  don't  feel 
like  going  alone  with  that  frisky  steed. 
I  wonder  if  I  could  get  one  of  the  chil- 
dren— or  both — ^to  go  with  me.  I  would 
feel  quite  safe  if  I  had  Sister  to  drive, 
and  Brother  to  look  after  the  buggy  in 
case  any  of  the  bolts  came  loose  or  some 
strap  should  unbuckle." 

*  *  Sister !  did  you  hear  that  ?  Wake 
up — wake  up,"  whispered  Brother. 

Mamma  answered  doubtingly :  *  *  Pos- 
sibly you  might  persuade  them  to  go." 

"Of   course  we'll   go!"    came  in   a 


c 


34  ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 

chorus,    as   the    two    scrambled    out   of 
bed. 

"Why,  are  you  awake?  And  how 
good  of  you  to  be  willing  to  go !  I  was 
afraid  you  might  want  to  stay  at  home 
— and  study,  perhaps,"  said  Aunt  Sie, 
in  great  surprise,  catching  them  both  in 
her  arms. 

* '  And  what  are  we  to  go  to  Joey 
Vale's  for?" 

'  *  Grandfather  wants  me  to  see  Joey  on 
business.  You  can  ask  him  when  you  go 
downstairs." 

It  did  not  take  long  for  them  to  dress 
and  run  downstairs,  where  they  called 
loudly  in  search  of  grandfather.  At  last 
they  spied  him  coming  from  an  early  visit 
to  the  fields,  and  running  to  meet  him, 
each  took  a  hand,  and  dancing  along  be- 
side him,  begged  to  know  why  they  were 
to  go  to  see  Joey  Vale. 
.   **  I  want  you  to  go  and  get  me  a  dog." 

'*A  what?"  unable  to  believe  their 
ears. 


''BINGO   WAS  HIS  NAME''  35 

'*  Yes,  a  dog.  I  hear  that  he  has  some 
for  sale,  and  I  thought  if  you  two  would 
go  over  and  take  a  look  at  them,  it  would 
save  me  a  trip." 

They  looked  at  grandfather ;  then  drop- 
ping his  hand,  they  seized  each  other's, 
and  began  what  they  called  a  **  joyful 
dance,"  which  was  lilting  up  and  down 
and  squealing.  To  have  simply  a  visit 
to  Joey  Vale  would  have  seemed  to  them 
the  top  of  happiness,  for  the  admiration 
which  they  felt  for  him  was  unbounded. 
He  was  thirteen  years  old — *  *  a  perfectly 
e-normous  boy,  half  as  tall  as  papa," 
was  their  description  as  give^i  to  their 
mother  after  their  first  sight  of  him. 
And  besides  his  weight  of  years,  his 
acquirements  were  such  as  to  command 
an  awed  respect.  He  had  found  Mistress 
Judy  and  her  little  pigs  after  all  the  men 
and  boys  on  the  place  had  hunted  for  her 
in  vain,  and  they  had  heard  grandfather 
say  that  he  had  more  sense  than  all  the 
crew  put  together.     And  long  ago  Aunt 


36  ON  GRANDPA  THER '  S  FARM 

Sie  had  told  them  that  a  guinea  hen  that 
could  hide  her  nest  so  that  Joey  could  not 
find  it,  would  be  sharp  even  for  a  guinea 
hen.  And  then  the  flutter- wheels  and 
weather-cocks  that  he  could  make  I  They 
felt  much  better  acquainted  with  him 
when  he  was  not  around  than  when  he 
was,  and  they  spoke  of  him  in  his  ab- 
sence as  *  *  Joey, ' '  while  in  his  presence 
they  usually  just  coughed  instead;  and 
they  secretly  marveled  at  the  ease  with 
which  their  grandfather  and  aunts  carried 
themselves  toward  him. 

And  to  buy  a  dog  from  a  boy  like 
that! 

Just  as  they  finished  breakfast,  Charley 
was  driven  up  to  the  door.  Brother  took 
a  careful  look  at  all  the  bolts  and  running- 
gear  and  put  a  stout  rope  into  the  buggy ; 
for  he  and  sister  had  decided  to  tie  the 
dog  behind  and  let  him  trot  home. 

To  one  looking  on,  Charley  was  not  a 
beast  to  cause  fear  in  the  most  timid 
breast.     But  the  feat  of  driving  him  was 


''BINGO  WAS  HIS  NAME''  yj 

made  greater  by  a  belief  of  the  small 
people  that  it  was  only  superior  skill 
which  kept  him  from  galloping  oif  at 
break-neck  speed.  He  was  twenty-four 
years  old,  but  as  his  grassy  pathway 
through  life  had  been  well  strewn  with 
oats  and  corn,  he  was  still  sleek  and  fat, 
and  shone  like  a  ripe  chestnut.  He  knew 
his  own  mind  about  the  amount  of  labor 
that  should  be  required  of  a  horse  of  his 
age,  and  he  cared  little  what  others 
thought.  Nothing  but  a  fly  could  cause 
him  to  alter  the  dignified  pace  which  he 
usually  took. 

After  much  talk  they  set  forth.  Sister 
held  the  reins.  Brother  the  whip,  and 
Aunt  Sie  sat  between  the  two,  and  re- 
ceived into  each  ear  a  steady  flow  of  talk. 

**Now,"  said  Brother,  **  I  think  as 
Sister  gets  to  drive,  I  ought  to  be  the  one 
to  pick  out  the  road." 

**  I  think  that  would  be  only  fair," 
answered  Aunt  Sie,  *'  if  you  can  find  the 
way." 


3©  ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 

**To  be  sure  I  can  find  it,"  and 
Brother  stood  up  and  pointed  with  the 
whip.  **  After  you  get  through  the 
woods  you  turn  into  another  road,  and 
that  takes  you  to  the  road  that  runs  along 
the  top  of  the  world — over  there.  D'  ye 
see  it?" 

Sister  nudged  Aunt  Sie  with  her  sharp 
little  elbow  and  whispered,  **  The  top  of 
the  world !  as  if  all  road  wei^^n't  on  top 
of  the  world!  **  Then  aloud  she  asked, 
*'  Brother,  what  shape  is  the  world  ?  " 

**  I  know;  it's  round." 

**  But  does  it  seem  round  ?  It  didn't 
use  to,  to  me,  when  I  was  your  age." 
Sister  always  put  Brother  a  good  year 
and  a  half  behind  her  in  wisdom. 

**  How  did  it  use  to  seem  to  you. 
Sister  ?  "  Brother  asked  meekly,  not  wish- 
ing to  commit  himself. 

**  It  seemed  like  a  high,  level  bluff, 
that  you  could  have  jumped  off  of  into 
the  ocean." 

**  Yes,  that's  the  way  it  used  to  seem 


^^BINGO   WAS  HIS  NAME''  39 

to  me — only  I  used  to  think  you  could 
jump  off  into  a  river.  I  didn't  used  to 
know  about  oceans.** 

"Brother,"  said  Sister  sternly,  '*you 
have  always  known  about  oceans.*' 

**I  mean  I  didn't  use  to  know  when  I 
was  a  young  chap,  and  wore  long  dresses, 
and  stayed  in  my  crib.** 

**Now,  Aunt  Sie,  I  don*t  like  that 
habit  Brother  has  of  getting  out  of  things, 
and  I  wish  you'd  forbid  it.  As  if  any 
one  expected  him  to  know  about  the 
world  when  he  was  a  goo-goo  and  stayed 
in  his  crib," 

**  Oh !  but  Brother  knew  a  great  many 
things,  even  when  he  was  only  a  goo- 
goo. 

Starting  from  this  poor  Aunt  Sie  was 
kept  busy  with  stories  of  their  infancy 
until  they  reached  the  Vale  farm.  The 
fierce  barking  of  a  collie  brought  Mrs. 
Vale  to  the  door,  and  Joey  came  from  be- 
hind the  house,  where  he  was  chopping 
wood. 


40  ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 

Aunt  Sie  told  their  errand,  after  a  little 
chat  with  Mrs.  Vale,  and  Joey  was  at 
once  sent  to  the  kennel  and  soon  returned 
with  three  squirming,  big-headed  pups  in 
his  arms,  jealously  followed  by  their 
mother. 

*  *  How  small  they  are !  ' '  said  Aunt 
Sie. 

**  They'll  grow  fast,  and  they're  just 
about  weaned  now, ' '  Joey  told  her. 

*'  Oh!  I  dare  say  they'll  grow.  They 
are  not  just  what  I  wanted — still — 
What  do  you  think  of  them,  children  ?  " 

**  They're  just  lovely!"  answered  Sis- 
ter, stroking  them. 

' '  Will  they  always  stand  that  way — 
like  stools  ? ' '  asked  Brother  uneasily,  as 
Joey  put  one  down  upon  its  widely  spread- 
ing legs. 

He  felt  ashamed  when  Joey  laughed 
and  explained  that  the  legs  would  soon 
stiffen  into  good  shape.  That  wise  young 
man  also  pointed  out  the  ' '  twa  een  on 


''BINGO   WAS  HIS  NAME''  41 

each  side  of  the  head,"  which  showed 
them  to  be  high-bred  collies,  and  told  of 
so  many  clever  things  their  mother  could 
do,  that  Aunt  Sie  closed  the  bargain,  and 
was  promised  that  the  pup  should  reach 
the  farm  that  evening. 

As  they  turned  toward  home  Brother 
cast  a  sad  glance  at  the  stout  rope  which 
lay  useless  in  the  buggy.  He  had  pic- 
tured to  himself  the  noble  animal — very 
like  those  he  had  seen  in  pictures  of  Al- 
pine snow-storms — which  was  to  have 
trotted  home  at  the  end  of  it.  He  would 
have  held  the  rope  kindly  but  firmly — in 
a  manner  to  let  the  dog  know  that,  while 
a  master's  kindness  might  always  be  de- 
pended upon,  a  boy's  authority  must  be 
obeyed  too.  Still,  Brother  had  the  happy 
way  of  coming  upon  blessings,  no  matter 
how  events  turned,  and  finally  said  with  a 
faint  sigh : 

**It's  much  better  for  Joey  to  bring 
him;  he  can  explain  to  the  pup's  mother, 
and  besides,  if  we  had  tied  him  to  the 


42  ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 

buggy," — a  pause  in  order  to  think  of 
some  good  reason, — **Juno  might  have 
chased  after  us,  and  hooked  him." 

**I  think  we  won't  let  him  associate 
much  with  Juno,  she's  so  bad,"  replied 
Sister.  In  her  heart  she  dearly  loved 
Juno ;  still,  since  the  day  they  were  lost, 
she  had  assumed  rather  a  condemning 
tone  in  speaking  of  her. 

*  *  Certainly,  the  less  he  has  to  do  with 
Juno  the  better  dog  he  will  be,"  Aunt  Sie 
agreed.. 

**Yes,  but  poor  Juno  is  very  young, 
you  know,  for  a  cow — of  course,  she  is 
a  rather  old  calf ;  I  don't  think  she  really 
meant  to  be  bad  that  day,"  faithful 
Brother  could  not  help  saying. 

The  afternoon  was  spent  in  fitting  up, 
for  the  use  of  the  new  dog,  grand  rooms 
in  a  large  box. 

The  windows  of  the  dining  room  gave 
a  view  of  the  road,  and  during  the  even- 
ing meal  two  pairs  of   eyes  watched  it 


*' BINGO   WAS  HIS  NAME'' 


43 


constantly.  At  last  a  glad  shout  of 
*  *  There  he  comes  ! ' '  rose  from  Brother, 
and  a  hasty  run  was  made  to  the  porch 
by  all. 

**  He  hasn't  got  it!"  wailed  Sister. 

"He — ^hasn't — got  it!"  echoed  Bro- 
ther. 

"  Where  is  the  pup,  Joey?  "  called 
grandfather,  as  the  boy  came  within 
speaking  distance. 

**  He's  here,  sir,"  was  the  cheery 
answer. 

**  He's  there,  Sister.  Oh,  goody!" 

"But  I  don't  see  him." 

Joey  patted  a  long  bulge  which 
showed   itself   on   one   side   of   his 
jacket.     As   he  stopped   the  bulge 
was  seen  to  move  up,  and  a  moment  later 
a  silky  head  thrust  itself  out  at  the  collar. 

**  It's  a  good  way  to  carry  a  pup,  and 
besides  I  had  to  slip  away  from  the  mo- 
ther," said  Joey,  as  he  unbuttoned  his 
jacket. 

Grandfather  took  the  pup  and  held  him 


ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 

Up  for  all  to  look  at.  *'  There  isn't  much 
of  him,  is  there,  Joey?" 

**  Not  yet,  sir.  But  he's  healthy  and 
strong,"  and  Joey  told  off  the  various 
marks  of  a  fine  dog  which  the  small  beast 
bore. 

**Well,  well,  you  know  more  about 
that  than  I  do,  and  Til  take  your  word 
for  it  all.  Here,  children,  get  Joey  to 
show  you  how  to  feed  him  and  put  him 
to  bed.  He's  your  dog,  and  you'll  have 
to  see  that  he's  properly  brought  up. 
Come,    Brother,    take    hold   of    him." 

Brother  took  him  by  the  nape  of  the 
neck,  which  caused  Sister  to  dance  wildly 
from  one  foot  to  the  other.  **  Don't 
carry  him  in  that  way — oh,  you  cruel  boy ! 
See  how  meek  it  makes  him  look,  with  his 
little  paws  curled  down  and  his  tail  curled 
up— oh,  oh,  put  him  into  my  apron !" 

Here  the  late  owner  stopped  her,  say- 
ing that  dogs  preferred  to  be  carried  in 
that  way,  and  the  three  went  away  around 
the  house. 


''BINGO   WAS  HIS  NAME''  4$ 

Six  weeks  passed,  and  six  weeks  make 
a  great  change  in  the  size  of  a  pup,  and 
in  his  nature  too.  During  that  time  he 
had  been  named,  and  '*  Bingo  was  his 
name.'*  His  legs  had  stiffened  up;  and 
now,  instead  of  hanging  on  to  a  step  by 
his  chin,  and  whining  when  he  wished  to 
go  higher,  or  rolling  over  and  over  with  a 
series  of  yelps  when  he  tried  to  go  down, 
he  could  thump  up  and  downstairs  at  a 
fine  rate.  He  had  tried  various  means  by 
which  to  make  himself  good  friends  with 
Aunt  Leashie,  the  worst  of  which  was  to 
rouse  her  suddenly  from  her  morning 
dreams  by  leaping  upon  her  bed  and 
frolicking  over  it  until  its  sncwy  whiteness 
was  starred  with  tracks  of  red  clay.  He 
had  chased  every  turkey,  chicken,  and 
duck  on  the  place ;  and  he  had  insulted 
Pooley,  the  cat,  over  and  over  again  by 
barking  at  her  and  trying  to  drive  her  out 
of  the  library.  At  first  she  had  not 
thought  it  worth  while  to  notice  him,  she 
despised  him  so,  but  one  day  he  went  a 


46  ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM   . 

little  too  far;  he  pawed  her  tail  and 
squeaked  around  her  until  she,  who  had 
been  respected  in  the  house  for  years,  felt 
that  he  might  be  taking  her  contempt  for 
fear.  On  that  day  she  laid  her  ears  '  ack 
until  her  head  looked  quite  round,  made 
a  straight  line  of  her  mouth,  and  stared 
unblinkingly  at  him  for  several  seconds ; 
then,  with  lightning  swiftness,  gave  him 
a  stinging  blow  on  one  ear  first,  and  then 
on  the  other,  and  forever  settled  her 
rights.  Bingo  backed  off  with  loud 
howls,  and  never  stopped  until  safely 
hidden  under  the  sofa,  from  which  refuge 
he  complained  loudly  to  his  pitying  young 
friends;  and  he  gave  himself  invalid 
manners  for  some  time  afterward. 

But,  while  he  was  growing,  his  training 
was  kept  up.  He  was  taught  to  carry 
grandfather's  cane,  and  although  it  usually 
took  the  whole  family  to  get  it  again,  so 
thoroughly  did  he  enter  into  the  duty, 
still  it  was  thought  to  look  well  to  see  a 
little  dog  so  willing  to  make  himself  use- 


''BINGO   WAS  HIS  NAME''  47 

ful.  Then  he  could  play  hide-and-seek 
probably  more  beautifully  than  any  dog 
of  his  age  ever  played  it  before.  Aunt 
Sie  would  sit  down  upon  the  grass,  and 
cause  him  to  hide  his  eyes  by  holding  him 
with  all  her  strength,  until  the  children, 
snugly  hidden  behind  the  great  rose- 
bushes, would  shout  **Re-ad-y!"  when, 
with  the  warning,  *'  Ready  or  not,  you 
must  be  caught,*'  she  would  let  him  go, 
and  he  would  tear  madly  off  in  search  of 
them.  The  sight  would  prove  too  much 
for  the  small  hiders,  and  they  would  be- 
tray themselves  by  giggles,  whereat  Bingo 
would  pounce  upon  them  and  chew  them 
joyously,  until  panting  and  breathless, 
they  would  reach  the  safe  goal  of  dear 
Aunt  Sie's  arms. 

In  spite  of  not  meaning  to.  Sister  and 
Brother  had  not  been  able  to  resist  taking 
Bingo  to  see  Juno,  and  many  a  gay  frolic 
the  four  friends  had  together.  There 
were,  it  is  true,  sham  battles,  in  which 
Juno  seemed   on   the   point  of  hooking 


48  ON  GRAND  FA  THER  'S  FARM 

Bingo,  and  Bingo  seemed  on  the  point  of 
biting  Juno's  legs;  but  these  exciting 
little  plays  only  raised  the  spirits  of  the 
four,  and  put  them  into  the  humor  for  a 
dash  down  the  long,  sloping  pasture,  at 
the  lower  end  of  which  they  usually 
landed  in  something  of  a  heap. 

But  it  was  after  a  trip  to  Richmond, 
where  they  saw  a  goat-cart  drawn  by  two 
goats,  that  the  crowning  effort  of  Bingo's 
life  was  attempted. 

'*  We'll  train  Bingo  to  draw  the  ex- 
press," said  Brother  that  night,  as  he  and 
Sister  were  talking  over  the  glories  of  the 
day. 

*  *  Do  you  think  he  is  strong  enough  ? '  * 
**  Dogs  are  very  strong." 

**  If  only  Pooley  wasn't  so  crabbed 
with  him,  we  might  have  a  span,"  said 
Sister. 

*  *  Or  if  Joey  would  lend  us  one  of  the 
pups." 

''0-h!" 

"We'll   ask    grandfather  to   lend  us 


''BINGO   WAS  HIS  NAME''  49 

Charley,  to-morrow,  and  we'll  drive  over 
and  hire  one  of  Joey's  pups,  and  we'll 
train  them  to  trot  together.  Won't  we, 
zip!" 

And  the  little  heads  settled  down  upon 
their  pillows,  full  of  beautiful  plans  which, 
it  is  to  be  hoped,  were  carried  out  in 
dreamland,  for  the  next  day  came  in  a 
downpour  of  rain  which  forbade  a  trip  to 
Joey  Vale's. 

But  about  ten  o'clock  they  went  out  of 
sight  in  the  direction  of  the  big  barn, 
under  a  wide  umbrella,  with  Bingo  soberly 
trotting  at  their  bare  little  heels.  After 
much  counsel  they  had  decided  to  use 
their  idle  time  to  make  a  harness  for 
Bingo.  A  rainy  morning,  and  a  big, 
clean  barn,  are  not  bad  together,  and  the 
little  brother  and  sister  were  soon  cozily 
settled  in  the  back  seat  of  the  family 
carriage,  while  Bingo  lay  sleeping  in  the 
front.  They  were  very  busy  with  their 
harness  making,  and  their  fingers  and 
tongues  kept  time.     Now  and  then  Bingo 

D 


50  ON  GRANDPA  THER '  S  FARM 

was  roused  to  be  measured,  but  the  steady 
rain  on  the  roof  speedily  lulled  him  to 
sleep  again. 

At  the  farther  end  of  the  barn,  and 
joined  to  it,  was  an  open  shed  under 
which  the  fowls  could  gather  out  of  the 
rain,  and  through  the  open  door  the  two 
little  workers  could  hear  the  remarks  that 
the  poultry  seemed  to  be  making  about 
the  weather.  Chief  in  the  group  was  the 
stately  turkey-gobbler,  **  Mr.  Cornelius," 
who,  as  usual,  was  strutting  and  swelling 
to  the  point  of  bursting. 

**He*s  a  fine  fellow,"  said  Brother, 
after  watching  him  awhile  in  silent  admir- 
ation. 

**  He'd  be  much  nicer  if  only  he  were 
a  swan,"  said  Sister;  **^hen  we  could 
harness  him  to  a  small  boat  and  have  him 
take  us  around  the  carp  pond.  What  a 
lovely  swan  he'd  make;  only  his  neck 
ought  to  be  longer  and  he  ought  to  be 
snow-white." 


■^ 


qS       5? 


**  Sister!"  cried  Brother, 
standing  up,  **  Sister,  Tve  got 
it.  I've  thought  of  something. 
It's  much  better  that  he's  a  tur- 
key.' 


»» 


At  noon  the  clouds  broke  away  and  the 
sun  shone  out.  Grandfather,  who  had 
been  having  a  long,  quiet  morning  in  the 
library,  looked  up  as  the  warm  ray  fell 
across  his  book. 

*  *  Where  are  those  blessed  children 
keeping  themselves  all  this  time?"  he 
asked  of  his  daughters,  who  sat  near  the 
porch  door  enjoying  one  of  their  never- 
ending  talks. 

**0h,  they  and  the  faithful  Bingo  are 
down  at  the  barn.     They  have " 

**  Excuse  me.  Miss  Sie,  fur  comin'  in 
with  my  muddy  feet,  but  I  jes'  want  to 
ask  de  boss  if  he  'lows  de  chillun  to  *buse 
Mr.  Co'nelius?"  broke  in  Randolph, 
coming  excitedly  to  the  door. 

** Abuse  Mr.  Cornelius!     Of  course  I 


•'> 


5,2  ON  GRANDPA  THER '  S  FARM 

don't.  What  in  the  world  are  they  doing 
to  him  ? ' '  asked  grandfather,  rising  has- 
tily to  his  feet. 

**  Dey's  dun  gone  an'  hitched  him  to 
de  spress  wagon,  'long  with  Bingo,"  and 
Randolph's  sternness  melted  into  a  broad 
grin,  which  showed  that  deep  down  in 
his  heart  there  hid  some  enjoyment  of 
the  fact. 

*  *  Cornelius  and  Bingo  hitched  into  the 
express  wagon !  The  boy  must  be  crazy, ' ' 
and  grandfather  marched  across  the  porch. 
His  daughters  followed  and  saw  a  proces- 
sion making  its  way  toward  the  house. 

With  ducks,  geese,  and  chickens  all 
about,  each  loudly  adding  to  the  noise, 
came  the  express  wagon.  Beside  it,  with 
stately  air,  walked  Sister,  with  flower- 
trimmed  head  and  wand.  Behind,  giving 
a  helping  hand  to  the  wagon  and  hold- 
ing the  reins  of  his  unruly  team,  puffed 
Brother ;  while  harnessed  to  the  car  came 
Dignity  and  Impudence — Mr.  Cornelius 
and  Bingo.     Poor  Mr.  Cornelius  I     Peg- 


''BINGO   WAS  HIS  NAME''  53 

asus  chained  to  a  plow  must  have  been 
gay  compared  to  him.  His  legs  were 
hobbled,  the  better  to  control  his  speed, 
and  his  rounded  body  was  bound  in  a 
queerly-made  harness.  That  he  felt  the 
insult  of  his  position  showed  in  every 
feather.  His  breast  bulged,  his  wings 
tried  to  drag  upon  the  ground,  his  **  night- 
cap" hung  far  over  his  beak,  and  his 
wattles  shaded  from  a  bluish  white  to  a 
wrathful  red.  From  time  to  time  he 
uttered  what  must  have  been  something 
terrible  in  turkey  language,  and  made 
sidewise  leaps  at  the  joyous  pup,  who 
flopped  and  capered  and  gave  vent  to 
his  pleasure  by  pawing  him  in  a  friendly 
way  with  his  great  muddy  feet. 

Brother  was  quite  flushed  with  the  work 
of  pushing  and  urging,  when  he  looked 
up  and  saw  his  family  coming  to  meet 
them. 

*  *  They'll  —  go — better  after  — while — 
grandfather.  I  have  to  boost — Mr.  Cor- 
nelius a  good  deal;  he  doesn't  under — 


54  ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 

Stand  yet.  Sister's  the  Fairy — Queen 
and — ^this  is  her  chariot,"  he  said,  be- 
tween puffs. 

Sister  waved  her  wand  grandly. 

Grandfather  had  come  out  ready  to 
scold  them  soundly  if  he  found  them  in 
mischief,  and  mamma  had  meant  to  help 
him.  But  the  absence  of  any  meaning 
to  be  naughty — ^their  perfect  good  faith — 
made  them  feel  helpless,  and  they  looked 
about  for  something  to  blame.  Bingo,  with 
his  open  look,  at  once  seemed  suitable. 

*  *  I  had  hoped  that  Bingo  would  keep 
them  out  of  mischief,"  sighed  mamma 
forlornly. 

Aunt  Sie  began  in  this  same  sad  man- 
ner :  *  *  I  thought  he  would  be  a  guard  to 
them " 

**And  a  comfort  to  father  in  his  old 
age  as  well,"  added  Aunt  Leashie. 

Grandfather  began  in  a  rather  high 
key  through  trying  to  keep  from  laugh- 
ing: **  Children,  I  am  more  pained  than 
I  can  say  to  see  you  ill-treat  a  poor  bird." 


''BINGO   WAS  HIS  NAME''  55 

Sister's  wand  dropped  in  perfect  amaze- 
ment. **  Have  we  been  bad,  grand- 
father?" and  Brother  stood  up  very- 
straight,  while  his  eyes  and  mouth  shaped 
themselves  into  a  very  large  and  solemn 
*'0,"  before  he  said  contritely,  **We 
did  not  know  it  was  bad,  grandfather!  " 


LILY  AND  LUPINE 


LILY  AND  LUPINE 


to-morrow  is  a  fine  day  I  will  drive 
up  to  the  mines  and  see  about  coal 
for  next  winter,  and  attend  to  some 
business  I  have  near  there,"  said 
grandfather  to  his  assembled  fam- 
ily, as  they  sat  under  the  Pride  of 
China  trees  watching  the  moon  rise. 
**We  might  cut  a  tree  down,  grand- 
father, and  then  you  wouldn't  have  to 
buy  coal,"  said  Brother,  who  usually  felt 
that  the  talk  was  for  himself  chiefly. 
*'If  you  would  have  Randolph  chop  it 
down,  Sister  and  I  could  cut  the  branches 
off  and  haul  it  home  with  Juno ;  she's  a 
sort  of  ox,  you  know.  Or  we  could  cut 
it  into  tiny  little  pieces  and  bring  it  home 
on  our  express  wagon." 

**  Brother!"  said  Sister  severely,   for 
she  did  not  like  hinr  to  make  wild  plans 

59 


6o  ON  GRANDPA  THER '  S  FARM 

even  to  so  near  a  relative  as  a  grand- 
father. **It  would  take  us  a  year  to 
bring  a  tree  from  the  woods."  Besides, 
a  pleasant  thought  had  arisen  in  her  mind 
at  her  grandfather's  words.  It  was 
scarcely  likely  that  if  he  went  to  the 
mines  he  would  drive  all  that  long  way 
without  a  soul  to  speak  to. 

*  *  Sister  is  right ! ' '  answered  grand- 
father. **It  would  take  you  two  many 
a  long  summer  day  to  cut  up  a  tree  and 
then  drag  it  first  down  hill,  then  across 
the  vineyard,  and  then  up  hill  to  the 
house.  Besides,  I  have  no  trees  to  spare. 
So  we  shall  have  to  go  and  buy  coal." 

**  *We,'  Brother!  "  whispered  Sister. 

**  Cobbin,"  grandfather  went  on,  drop- 
ping back  into  the  use  of  mamma's  nick- 
name when  she  was  a  girl,  **has  never 
been  to  the  mines  and  I  think  she  would 
enjoy  the  drive." 

**Y — es,"  murmured  a  light  duet,  in 
which  was  an  undertone  of  disappoint- 
ment. 


LILY  AND  LUPINE    ::  6i 

'*  Don't  you  want  mamma  to  go  ? 
Don't  you  think  she  would  enjoy  it?" 
asked  grandfather,  as  he  drew  into  his 
arms  the  two  little  figures  which  had 
stolen  up,  one  on  each  side  of  him. 

**  Y — es,  oh  yes,  she'd  be  sure  to  en- 
joy it.  Any  one  would.  Yes,  we  want 
her  to  go,  don't  we.  Brother?  " 

**Yes,  of  course  we  do;  we  want 
mamma  to  have  a  good  time,  and  it  must 
be  very  nice  to  drive  to  a  coal  mine," 
Brother  said  quickly. 

**  I  suppose  you'll  take  old  Charley," 
came  from  Sister. 

**I  have  not  decided.  I  may  take 
young  Charley  and  Selim . "  (  Here  grand- 
father felt  quick  nudges  passed  behind 
his  back.) 

**  If  you  take  the  span,"  began  Aunt 
Leashie,  **  why  might  we  not  all  go,  and 
make  a  day  of  it  ?  We  are  a  lazy  set  any- 
how since  Cobbin  came,  and  it  would  be 
quite  as  well  to  waste  our  time  in  driving 
about  the  country  as  in  any  other  way." 


62  ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 

"You  are  a  very  sensible  young  wo- 
man," said  Aunt  Sie,  "  and  I  approve  of 
all  you  say." 

**  It  would  be  jolly,"  agreed  mamma. 

* '  But  how  would  we  all  go  ?  "  asked 
grandfather. 

**  In  the  farm  wagon.  You  and  Cob- 
bin,  who  is  our  honored  guest,  on  the 
spring  seat,  Leashie  and  I  on  kitchen 
chairs  behind  you,  and  the  babies  on 
stools  behind  us.  We  would  go  off  in 
old  Virginia  fashion.  We  could  take 
along  a  coffee-pot  and  a  basket  of  bread 
and  butter,  and  have  lunch  in  the  woods. 
That  is,  we  could  do  all  this,  only  maybe 
the  babies  are  too  stuck  up  to  go  in  a 
farm  wagon  and  sit  on  stools." 

**Aunt  Sie,  Aunt  Sie!  You  know 
we're  not  too  stuck  up;  you  know  we 
just  hate  stuck-up  children,"  and  the  two 
flew  at  her  and  kissed  and  pounded  her 
in  the  fullness  of  their  joy. 

**  Well,  I  don't  know  what  to  do  with 
such  an  unstylish  set  of  *  wimen  folks,'  " 


LIL  Y  AND  L  UPINE  63 

said  grandfather,  as  if  taken  by  surprise 
at  the  turn  his  plan  had  taken,  though  in 
truth  he  was  not  surprised  at  all,  and  was 
generally  ready  for  anything.  Indeed 
he  was  an  ideal  grandfather.  He  and 
Father  Time  had  long  ago  come  to  an 
agreement  with  each  other.  He  was 
not  to  watch  Father  Time  too  closely  nor 
try  to  get  too  much  out  of  him,  and 
Father  Time  was  letting  his  sands  glide 
very  slowly  and  gently  through  his  fingers 
upon  the  pathway  over  which  the  dear 
old  feet  walked.  In  short,  grandfather 
was  taking  life  easy  and  enjoying  the 
well-earned  sweetness  of  his  ripened 
years.  So,  with  his  pleasant  laugh  he 
agreed  to  the  plan  if  the  babies  would  go 
at  once  to  bed,  so  they  might  be  up  next 
morning  bright  and  early,  ready  for  the 
journey. 

The  next  morning  at  daybreak  mamma 
dreamed  that  her  two  children  had  turned 
into  mocking-birds,  and  had  perched 
htgh  up  on  a  branch  of  the  great  cherry 


tree  which  grew  just  outside  her  win- 
dow. They  were  singing  at  the  top  of 
their  voices ;  and  just  as  they  flung  them- 
selves into  the  air — after  the  manner  of 
mocking-birds  in  the  ecstasy  of  their  song 
— she  opened  her  eyes  with  a  start  and 
saw  two  little  white  figures  sitting  in  the 
window,  with  the  green  dewy  branches 
behind  them,  twittering  together  softly 
about  their  expected  journey.  She  closed 
her  eyes  without  speaking  and  turned 
over  to  take  her  beauty  nap.  When  she 
woke  again,  the  children  were  gone. 
Nothing  was  left  of  them  but  two  night- 
gowns lying  in  rings  by  the  window. 
Down  below,  in  the  garden,  she  could 
hear  their  voices,  and  without  looking  out 
she  knew  just  how  they  were  bobbing 
about  in  the  strawberry  *  *  patch  ' '  gather- 
ing berries  for  breakfast. 

**  Where  are  you  going,  Randolph  ?  " 
she  heard  them  call,  as  the  farm  wagon 
rumbled  past  toward  the  high-road. 

**  G'wine  to  len'   de  fahm  wagon  to 


LIL  Y  AND  L  UPINE  65 

Mistah  Nellis.     Yo'  grandpa  dun  tol'  me 
to  car*  it  ovah  to  him.'* 

*  *  Can  grandfather  have  forgotten  about 
the  mines,  do  you  think,  Sister  ?  *' 

*'  Maybe  Randolph  is  just  making  it 
up.  You  know  he  often  makes  excuses 
to  get  over  to  the  Nellis  place.  We*  11  go 
this  very  minute  and  tell  him.'*  But 
when  found,  grandfather  would  tell  them 
very  little.  He  did  say  that  he  had 
loaned  the  wagon,  but  hinted  that  there 
were  in  the  land  other  things  to  ride  in. 
;  **  You  are  going  to  take  the  carriage, 
maybe  ?  '* 

**  But  maybe  Fm  not  going  to  do  any- 
thing of  the  kind.  It  is  too  rough  a  road 
for  the  carriage;  besides,  I  want  to  dig 
up  some  fine  fringe  bushes  which  I  know 
grow  up  that  way,*'  he  had  answered,  en- 
joying their  puzzle. 

After  breakfast  they  stood  watching  a 
most  tempting  lunch  being  put  into  a  big 
basket,  when  the  sound  of  wheels  caused 
them  to  fly  to  the  door. 


m  ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 

**  Oh,  grandfather,  mamma!  Oh, 
Aunt  Sie,  Aunt  Leashie!  Come,  come. 
Don't  wait  a  minute!  "  called  two  shrill 
voices. 

Up  the  drive  rolled  a  stately,  can- 
vas-topped wagon,  with  Randolph's  shin- 
ing black  face  in  its  snowy  setting. 

*'  Now  I  understand,"  was  all  Brother 
could  say.  i 

Ever  since  they  had  come  to  Virginia 
they  had  from  time  to  time  seen  these 
old-fashioned  wagons  making  their  way 
along  the  road  which  led  to  Richmond, 
and  many  were  the  questions  they  had 
asked  about  them.  Their  grandfather 
had  told  them  a  delightful  story  of  how 
he  had  taken  a  journey  of  several  weeks 
in  just  such  a  wagon  when  he  was  a  little 
boy.  This  story  had  caused  them  to  look 
upon  the  children  of  fifty  or  sixty  years 
ago  with  feelings  of  liveliest  envy.  And 
now  to  think  they  were  going  in  one 
themselves  !  If  only  they  were  going  to 
cross  a  mountain  range !     But  even  with 


only  a  day's  journey  before  them  they 
were  blessed  beyond  any  children  of  their 
acquaintance.  Wouldn't  they  tell  about 
it,  when  they  went  back  home  ?  And 
wouldn't  it  make  that  miserable  whale, 
which  two  little  girls  had  seen  while  cross- 
ing the  ocean,  and  had  talked  about  ever 
since,  seem  a  pitiably  small  fish  ? 
Humph,  rather. 

"Well,     well,"     called     grandfather, 


**  hurry  up  those  baskets  and  stools  and 
chairs,  and  get  them  into  the  wagon ;  we 
must  be  off  before  it  gets  too  hot.  Ran- 
dolph, bring  a  big  armful  of  hay  to  throw 
into  the  wagon,  and  don't  forget  a  good 
feed  of  oats.  Where's  Brother  ?  Oh, 
looking  over  the  running-gear  of  course. 
Trot  off  to  the  tool  house  and  get  the 
monkey-wrench;  and  Sister,  you  bring 
the  spade  from  the  garden." 


68  ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 

Away  flew  the  happy  little  ones  on 
their  errands,  and  Brother,  impressed  by 
the  size  of  the  wagon  in  which  the  journey 
was  to  be  taken,  brought,  besides  the 
wrench,  a  ball  of  twine,  a  hammer,  and  a 
strap. 

**They  may  be  useful,  you  know,  in 
case  anything  breaks." 

**  Yes,  indeed ;  it  is  well  to  be  prepared 
for  everything  when  one  starts  on  a 
journey.  Now  then.  Brother,  I  see  that 
we  won't  get  off  before  noon,  if  we  don't 
take  matters  in  hand,  and  that  pretty 
briskly  too." 

**And  the  sun's  getting  high,  isn't  it, 
grandfather?"  blinking  up  at  the  sun. 
**  Sister,  you  carry  out  the  little  basket; 
I'll  take  the  big  one."  And  Brother's 
chubby  face  glov/ed  with  virtue  and  ex- 
ercise. 

At  last  everything  and  everybody  was 
ready  for  the  start.  Even  Aunt  Leashie, 
who  at  the  last  moment  was  missing, 
came  out  from  the  strip  of  woods  which 


fj 


'p*^         lay  between  the  home  farm  and 

'J'  its  neighbor,  carrying  in  her  hand 

a  covered  basket,  and  Brother  and 

C^     Sister  felt  that  if  they  could  only  lift 

the  lid  they  would  find   some  of   Mrs. 

Brown's    delicious  wax  cherries   heaped 

there. 

**  Now  then,  is  this  party  ready?" 
asked  grandfather,  as  he  gathered  up  the 
reins  and  looked  around.  "Are  you 
there.  Brother  ?  Count  Sister  and  see 
if  she  is  there."  And  the  wheels  began 
to  turn. 

Oh,  the  delight  of  being  in  a  moving 
tent  that  the  little  girl  and  boy  nestling 
in  the  sweet-smelling  hay  felt  as  they 
watched  from  beneath  the  canvas  the 
farmhouse  growing  smaller  in  the  dis- 
tance. Suddenly  Sister  sprang  to  her 
feet. 

**0h,  please  stop,  grandfather,  please 
stop.  Bingo  is  following  us.  Do  let  me 
get  the  poor  darling." 

The  "poor  darling"  was  indeed  fol- 


70  ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 

lowing  as  fast  as  his  short,  fat  legs  could 
carry  him,  and  soon  overtook  the  wagon, 
which  had  been  brought  to  a  standstill. 
His  widely  staring  eyes  and  excited 
manner  seemed  to  say,  *'A  little  more 
and  I  would  have  missed  you.  That 
foolish  Randolph  tried  to  shut  me  into 
the  barn ;  but  I  escaped  just  in  the  nick 
of  time,  and  here  I  am." 

Brother  scrambled  out,  and  with  much 
puffing,  and  many  timid  yelps  from  Bingo, 
lifted  him  up  to  Sister,  who  took  him 
with  tender  and  comforting  words,  while 
grandfather  was  heard  to  murmur  some- 
thing about  having  * '  hoped  to  get  off 
without  the  beast." 

After  this  they  moved  noiselessly  on 
for  a  mile  or  more  over  the  sandy  country 
road,  and  then  they  turned  off  into  the 
woods,  or  rather  forest  of  pine  of  twenty 
years'  growth  that  had  sprung  up  on  each 
side  of  the  road,  and  had  taken  posses- 
sion of  the  land.  The  children  saw  their 
grandfather  pointing  out  to  their  mother 


LILY  AND  LUPINE  71 

the  old  corn  rows  which  could  be  easily- 
traced  between  the  trees,  where  the  corn 
had  once  waved  high  in  well-tilled  fields 
before  the  war.  They  turned  their  eyes 
upward  to  trace  the  height  of  the  trees, 
and  the  plumey-green  branches  seemed 
to  swing  and  toss  against  the  blue  sky. 
War  was  a  terrible  thing  to  think  of,  that 
sweet  summer  morning,  in  a  wood  scented 
with  dittany,  honeysuckles,  and  grape 
hyacinths. 

It  was  a  relief  to  them  when,  after  a 
little  time,  grandfather  began  to  sing  in 
his  pleasant  old  voice  softly,  as  to  him- 
self; 

"  Let  us  go,  lassie,  go, 

To  the  braes  0'  Balqinther 
Where  the  blae  berries  grow, 
Mang  the  bonnie  Highland  heather." 

Ah,  that  was  a  song  to  sing  driving 
through  the  woods  on  such  a  day.  They 
leaned  out  at  the  back  end  of  the  wagon 
and  watched  the  thin  grass  rise  up  from 
beneath  the  wheels,  and  saw  with  dismay 


72  ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 

that  they  crossed  a  long   and   crooked 
mole  hill. 

Presently  the  country  grew  broken  and 
rough,  and  they  halted  at  the  foot  of  a 
long,  steep  hill,  and  grandfather  said  they 
had  better  walk  while  he  drove  to  the 
top. 

**  It  seems  just  as  if  we  were  in  the 
Highlands  that  grandfather  has  been  sing- 
ing about,"  said  Brother  as  he  and  Sister 
let  themselves  drop  softly  from  the  back 
of  the  wagon. 

**  Yes,  and  Bingo  is  a  collie  dog,  and 
his  mother  came  from  Scotland  with  Joey 
Vale's  family-  '  o  that  makes  it  just  like 
the  Highland:  " 

Bingo  whimpered  a  good  deal  as  he 
was  being  taken  from  the  wagon,  but  his 
timidity  left  quickly  enough  when  he 
found  himself  on  solid  ground,  and  he 
tore  off  in  fine  style  after  the  children  as 
they  trotted  up  hill  in  advance  of  the 
others.  Again  and  again  he  would  rattle 
off  into  the  bushes  which  grew  along  the 


LIL  V  AND  L  UPINE  73 

narrow  road,  to  bark  at  birds,  and  when 
scolded  by  his  young  owners,  came  back 
with  such  a  rush  as  to  almost  upset  them. 

*  *  We  must  not  let  Bingo  be  so  much 
ivith  Randolph,"  said  Sister;  **for  he 
says  it  is  not  wicked  for  dogs  to  bark  at 
birds,  and  Bingo  listens  and  believes 
everything  Randolph  says,  and  of  course 
it  gives  him  bad  habits." 

**  Yes,  and  he  says  it  is  dog's  nature 
to  catch  *ole  hars,'  and  that  we'll  spoil 
Bingo  if  we  scold  him  when  he  digs  for 
moles ;  and  that  he's  going  to  teach  him 
to  go  coonin'  next  winter." 

Brother  and  Sister  often  had  long  talks 
with  Randolph  on  the  kitchen  porch  in 
the  evenings,  and  while  they  did  not 
agree  to  his  ideas  on  the  moral  training 
of  Bingo,  they  took  without  demur  his 
way  of  speaking  certain  words  which 
were  new  to  them,  and  they  would  have 
stoutly  argued  that  *  *  ole  hars  ' '  and  *  *  old 
hares  "  were  quite  different  animals. 

As  they  neared  the  top  of  the  hill  the^ 


74  ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 

noticed  some  people  running  wildly  about 
a  field  on  the  edge  of  which  stood  a 
cabin.  Bingo  barked  loudly  and  saucily 
at  them. 

* '  There  now ;  he  probably  thinks  they 
are  after  an  *  ole  har.'  You  see,  Brother, 
you'll  have  to  be  strict  with  him." 

"Bingo!"  thundered  Brother  in  what 
he  hoped  Sister  would  think  a  very  strict 
voice ;  * '  those  people  are  just  playing 
hide-and-seek." 

**  No,  grown-up  people  don't  play 
hide-and-seek.  I  think  they  are  hunting 
guinea  hens'  nests.  Now  when  we  get 
to  the  top  of  this  hill  let's  take  hands  and 
run  down  the  other  side." 

"Oh,  yes,  let's." 

At  the  top  they  paused  a  moment  to 
rest.  Then  Brother  marked  a  line  in  the 
dust  with  his  toes,  and  each  planting  a 
right  foot  upon  this  starting  point  they 
chanted  together  in  a  loud  voice : 

*'  One — two — three, 
The  bum-bull  bee! 


LIL  V  AND  L  UPINE  75 

The  rooster  crows, 
And  away  he  goes! 


)) 


and  sped  away. 

**  Oh  dear,"  wailed  mamma  as  she 
and  the  aunties  came  upon  the  scene  just 
as  the  race  started ;  *  *  I  do  wish  they 
would  not  run  so.  They  will  trip  and 
break  their  necks.  Oh!  there  they  go, 
all  in  a  heap." 

Sure  enough,  half-way  down  the  hill 
they  had  come  upon  something  over  which 
they  had  pitched.  Mamma  and  the 
aunties  quickened  their  steps,  reaching 
the  spot  just  as  the  two  were  getting 
upon  their  feet,  gazing  with  faces  full  of 
wonder  and  grimed  with  dust  at  the  ob- 
ject which  had  stopped  the  race.  For 
once  they  had  nothing  to  say.  It  was 
no  wonder  that  words  failed  them  for  the 
moment.  There,  in  the  dust,  crying 
lustily  at  his  rude  awakening,  lay  a  yel- 
low-haired baby.  Only  for  a  moment  did 
they  stand  speechless  gazing  at  it.  Then 
they  were  upon  their  knees  beside  it. 


76  ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 

**  Oh,  you  darling,  darling  baby  I  Go 
'way,  Bingo,  you  awful  beast.  At  last, 
at  last  we've  found  a  baby.  It's  fallen 
out  of  some  stork's  nest,"  glancing  up 
at  the  tall  pines.  **Look  around.  Broth- 
er dear,  there  may  be  more  of  them  in 
the  grass." 

**  Don't  cry,  baby  dear,  we'll  be  good 
to  you;  we  won't  hurt  you.  We  are  not 
robbers  or  gypsies,  even  if  we  do  seem 
so  big  to  you.  And  this  is  our  little  dog ; 
he's  just  a  silly  pup,  and  he  doesn't 
know  any  better  than  to  bark,"  added 
Brother,  as  he  helped  Sister,  who  was 
trying  to  get  the  baby  upon  its  fat  little 
legs.  Then  catching  sight  of  grand- 
father, whose  wagon  had  just  reached  the 
brow  of  the  hill,  he  made  a  trumpet  of 
his  hands  and  shouted  through  it : 

**We — found — a — ba-by.  We — ^think 
—  it  —  fell —  out  —  of  —  a  —  stork's  — 
nest." 

Now  the  aunties  and  mamma  reached 
them,  and  together  and  by  turns  all  tried 


LIL  V  AND  L  UPINE 


77 


to  show  to  the  wailing  child  their  friend- 
liness. Grandfather  canae  up  quickly, 
and  tying  the  horses  by  the  roadside, 
joined  the  group. 

'*  Well,  this  is  a  find!" 

*'And  we've  so  often  hunted  for 
babies,  and  could  never  find  one,  and 
here,  when  we  wasn't  looking  at  all,  we 
ran  right  over  one,"  explained  Brother. 

*  *  And  what  are  you  going  to  do  with 
it,  now  you  have  found  it  ?  " 

*  *  Grandfather !  ' '  cried  Sister,  as  she 
sat  back  amazed ;  *'  we'll  take  it  home,  of 
course!  " 

**  It  belongs  to  us;  we  found  it.  In- 
deed, indeed  we're  not  just  pretending, 
grandfather,"  Brother  said  quickly. 

*'  But  what  will  its  father  and  mother 
say  to  that?" 

The  children  grew  sober  and  looked  at 
each  other.  They  had  never  once  thought 
of  a  father  and  mother  for  their  treasure. 

**  But  if  it  hasn't  any,  if  we  can't  find 
its  parents,  then  we  may  keep  it,  mayn't 


78  ON  GRANDFATHER'S  FARM 

we  ?      It  could  sleep  with  us  and  we'd 
take  all  the  care  of  it,"  said  Brother. 

*  *  I  suppose  we  would  have  to  keep  it 
then.  But  come,  Brother,  look  along  the 
road  and  see  if  we  can  find  its  footprints, 
so  we  will  know  from  which  direction  it 
came."  This  was  business,  and  Brother 
started  at  once  on  this  important  task, 
leaving  Sister  cooing  over  the  baby,  who 
at  last  smiled  and  nestled  up  to  her.  It 
was  not  many  moments  until  a  shout  came : 

**  I've  found  its  tracks.  The  toes  are 
pointing  down  hill." 

**  Then  we  will  have  to  take  it  up  hill. 
We'll  go  to  that  cabin  we  saw  just  now ; 
maybe  the  people  who  live  there  will  know 
something  about  it." 

**  Please  let  Brother  and  me  lead  the 
sweet  darling.  Oh,  if  only  we  can't  find 
its  parents  !  ' ' 

With  one  of  its  hot  fat  hands  held  by 
each  of  its  adorers,  the  baby  stepped 
willingly  off  up  hill,  even  feeling  enough 
at  its  ease  to  make  loud  *  *  wow- wows  ' ' 


LIL  Y  AND  L  UFINE  79 

at  Bingo,  who  trotted  ahead.  The  party 
stopped  in  front  of  the  cabin.  Door 
and  windows  were  open  wide,  and  the 
people  were  still  hurrying  about  the  field. 

**  Hi,  hi,  there  !  "  shouted  grandfather. 
A  man  in  the  field  glanced  toward  them. 

'  *  What  are  you  looking  f or  ?  " 

No  answer. 

**  We've  found  a  child  asleep  in  the 
road.  Can  you  tell  us  anything  about 
it?" 

At  this  the  man  called  *  *  Mary,  Mary ! ' ' 
and  with  one  bound  cleared  the  fence  and 
came  running  along  the  road. 

'*  Dad— dad — dad !  "  began  the  baby, 
bobbing  up  and  down  at  sight  of  him. 

A  woman  scuttled  under  the  fence. 

**  Oh,  Bill,  have  you  found  him  ?  My 
baby,  my  baby!  " 

**We  found  him,  ma'am,"  the  chil- 
dren said  quickly ;  but  she  took  no  notice 
of  them,  snatched  up  the  baby,  and  cov- 
ering it  with  kisses  ran  weeping  toward 
the  house.     Her  husband  stayed  behind 


to  learn  where  the  baby  had  been  found ; 
and  to  tell  how  it  had  been  lost  for  an 
hour  or  more,  and  that  the  poor  mother 
was  *  *  that  nigh  crazy  about  it ' '  that  she 
had  forgotten  to  thank  them.  Then  he 
hurried  after  his  wife,  and  the  group  at 
the  roadside  saw  him  take  the  baby  and 
lift  it  to  his  shoulder  while  the  mother 
clung  to  its  hand  as  she  walked  beside 
him. 

**  Well,  I  don't  think  it  was  very  polite 
of  her  not  to  say,  *  Thank  you,  chil- 
dren,' "  sighed  Brother. 

**  Still  I  think  she  was  glad,"  Sister 
owned.  **If  only  she  had  offered  to 
lend  it  to  us  for  a  few  days,  it  would  have 
been  polite  of  her." 

They  walked  rather  sadly  back  to  the 
wagon  and  were  tired  enough  to  climb  in 
willingly.  Even  the  active  Bingo  fell 
upon  the  hay  and  slept  heavily  until  they 
reached  the  mines. 


It  was  a  busy  day,  what  with  finding 


LIL  Y  AND  L  UPINE  8i 

babies,  and  looking  down  abandoned 
shafts,  and  watching  the  creaking  loads 
of  coal  come  slowly  out  from  the  mouths 
of  dark,  damp  pits,  and  keeping  Bingo 
out  of  harm's  way.  Then  too,  there 
were  children  at  the  manager's  house 
with  whom  Sister  and  Brother  made 
friends,  and  from  whom  they  were  loth  to 
part  as  the  afternoon  drew  to  an  end. 

The  drive  home  through  the  sunny 
woods,  rosy  with  bright  azaleas  and  sweet 
with  honeysuckle,  they  will  never  forget. 
A  glade  among  the  oaks  especially  pleased 
them.  Under  the  wide-spreading  trees  lay 
great  granite  rocks,  which  looked  in  the 
evening  light  like  a  herd  of  sleeping  ele- 
phants. 

As  they  drove  slowly  up  the  hill  past 
the  scene  of  their  morning's  adventure. 
Brother  whispered  softly : 

**Ah,  wasn't  it  a  pity  that  it  had  a 
father  and  mother !  ' ' 

At  the  door  of  the  cabin  stood  the 
man,  and  they  could  see  he  was  watching 


82  ON  GRANDPA  THER '  S  FARM 

for  them.  At  sight  of  them,  he  hurried 
out  after  having  said  something  to  his 
wife,  whom  they  could  see  moving  about 
within. 

Grandfather  stopped  the  horses  to  say- 
that  he  hoped  the  baby  was  none  the 
worse  for  its  trudge,  and  while  he  and  the 
young  farmer  were  talking,  the  woman 
came  out  with  a  basket  in  one  hand,  and 
a  dish  in  the  other.  She  came  smiling 
up  to  the  wagon  and  set  the  basket  in 
between  the  children,  then  passing  around 
to  the  front  *  *  allowed  ' '  ^  that  after  their 
long  drive  they  would  be  hungry,  and 
handed  in  a  plate  of  warm  buttered  bis- 
cuits. She  said  that  the  baby  was  sound 
asleep;  and  she  hoped  that  the  ladies 
would  drive  up  some  day  and  see  her. 
As  with  thanks  and  farewells  they  started 
again  she  called  to  the  children : 

**  Don't  open  the  basket  till  you  get 
home.  There  is  a  present  in  it  from  the 
baby.'' 

1 "  Allowed  "  is  the  Virginian's  expression  for  "  assumed." 


LILY  AND  LUPINE  %2> 

*  *  What  can  it  be  ?  "  they  wondered 
again  and  again  as  they  listened  to  soft 
stirs  within,  and  tried  to  peer  through  the 
chinks. 

"It  is  alive,  whatever  it  is,"  said 
Brother  after  a  long  and  careful  listening ; 
'*  for  I  can  hear  breathing.  And  I  think 
it  is  a  Shetland  pony  colt,''  and  he 
beamed  with  bright  fancies. 

**  Oh,  Brother,  what  a  goose  you  are! 
As  if  a  Shetland  pony  colt — even  a  colt 
— could  be  carried  in  a  basket  by  a 
woman,"  and  Sister  laughed  from  her 
wisdom.  **  It  is  much  more  likely  to  be  a 
dear  little  pig — or  a  rabbit.  I  almost 
hope  it  is  not  a  rabbit — though  they  are 
so  perfectly  lovely — for  it  would  make 
me  so  miserable  to  see  the  dear  wee  thing 
carried  about  by  its  ears." 

**  It  is  the  only  way  to  carry  rabbits," 
with  an  air  of  manly  hard-heartedness. 

* '  Maybe  it  is ;  but  I  would  always 
carry  them  in  my  apron." 

**  Ho,  yes ;  but  boys  don't  have  aprons. 


84  ON  GRANDPA THER'S  FARM 

But  if  it  would  make  you  just  perfectly 
shudder  to  see  me  take  it  by  the  ears,  I 
could  carry  it  inside  my  waist,  the  way 
Joey  Vale  carries  pups,"  said  Brother 
trying  to  suit  her  as  far  as  possible. 

**  No,  no ;  it  would  have  to  get  used  to 
it,  and  for  that  very  reason  I  hope  it  is 
not  a  rabbit." 

Brother  once  more  put  his  ear  to  a 
chink  and  listened  long  and  silently,  then 
with  a  shout  of  joy,  •*  It's  pid-juns. 
Sister.     It's  pid-juns!  " 

**  Are  you  sure.  Brother  ?  Don't  say 
it  if  you're  only  guessing.  All  my  life  I 
have  wanted  pidjuns !  Can  you  see 
them  ?  are  they  snow  white  ?  ' ' 

"  They  sound  like  snow-white  ones," 
after  another  long  listening. 

"Oh,  Brother!  " 

He  was  right.  When  the  happy  and 
eventful  drive  ended  at  the  farmhouse 
door,  the  basket  was  gingerly  carried  in 
by  the  two,  and  Bingo  was  firmly  shut  out 
— although  he  was  full  of  curiosity — ^th© 


LIL  y  AND  L  UPINE  85 

cover  was  removed  before  all  the  family, 
and  the  happy  children  saw  a  pair  of 
pretty  meek  doves.  One  was  snow- 
white,  the  other  a  soft  bluish  grey. 

* '  That  is  a  very  good  shape  for  the 
baby  to  have  taken,"  said  grandfather. 

**  Oh,  yes,"  said  Sister,  looking  up 
from  the  birds.  **  We'll  pretend  we 
found  two  babies  and  that  they  turned 
into  doves.     Won't  we.  Brother  ?  " 

**  Let's.  And,  Sister,  really  and 
truly,  I  would  rather  have  doves  than 
babies.  The  Nellis  boys  say  that  their 
baby  just  yells  some  days,  and  our  doves 
will  never  yell.  They  are  just  as  lovely 
and  good  as  flowers.  Say  we  name  them 
Lily  and — and " 

**  And  Lupine,"  said  Sister,  clapping 
her  hands. 


T  ME  •  mIt     )  /  Jiv-  END  - 


